Middle English past participle ofwonento be used to, dwell ; see won1.

Usage Note: The most traditionally correct pronunciations of wont are (wōnt), the common pronunciation in Britain, sounding like the contraction won't, and (w&ubreve;nt), the historic American pronunciation, rhyming with hunt. However, the most common form of wont in contemporary American speech is probably (wônt), which to most people's ears sounds similar to (or even identical with) the word want. This (wônt) pronunciation may in fact be motivated by a confusion of the meanings of wont and want, both of which have to do with personal inclination. In any case, all three of these pronunciations are acceptable, though the historic (w&ubreve;nt) pronunciation may strike some listeners as odd or affected.

Sentence Examples

Vieta is wont to be called the father of modern algebra.

He, no doubt, like al-Asma`i and Abu `Ubaida, also himself visited the areas occupied by the tribes for their camping grounds in the neighbouring desert; and adjacent to Kufa was al-IIIra, the ancient capital of the Lakhmid kings, whose court was the most celebrated centre in pre-Islamic Arabia, where, in the century before the preaching of the Prophet, poets from the whole of the northern half of the peninsula were wont to assemble.

The outside world was wont to regard him as a mystic; and the mystical, or sacramental, view of life enters, it is true, very largely into his teaching.

The prince walked in quickly and jauntily as was his wont, as if intentionally contrasting the briskness of his manners with the strict formality of his house.

He is not known to have protested against any of the changes effected by his masters; he professed to be no theologian, and was wont, when asked theological questions, to refer his interrogators to the divines.